No way!
My Mac Studio Max has 64GB of RAM and 32 cores GPU for memory intensive tasks and much more faster for those benefited from GPU power.
I actually regrets not getting the Ultra model: 10 core CPU with 64G RAM is not enough for even a single heavy duty VM.
And this is why apple silicon is a dead end for high performance uses. The King Kong glued to Godzilla sized chip that is the Ultra still can’t handle workloads that a higher end consumer socket x86 CPU can, let alone HEDT or server parts, and all that’s before we touch the abysmal GPU/compute performance.
Unless Apple invests in dies that meet higher end needs, they have ceded every piece of the computing market more powerful than a decent “creator laptop” workflow. Which is fine, they make more money than god doing so, and would likely make less at least for a good while if they chased these other markets (can you imagine how hard it would be to break into server/data center with a custom ARM based architecture where many customers need to support 20+ year old code that is nowhere near being sunsetted?). But it’s still disappointing and sad to watch the final death knells of the Mac as a professional tool. From desktop publishing in the 80s until recently, there were large, high performance computing industries that relied on the Mac and its unique hardware/software combination. Going forward, the “pro” Apple cares about is a YouTuber who wants to be able to answer iMessages while using Final Cut (which still has zero collaboration features, in 2023! So can’t be used by even a team of 2, yikes!)
Science? Not enough memory and no access to CUDA mean many use cases are impossible for Mac.
3D work? Laughably weak GPUs with terrible software support.
Gamers? No game support, and crap GPUs even when supported.
Serious video editors — need things like collaboration and will use software that the bigger players use to build skills— so no Mac support.
Developers/programmers — unless programming for MacOS/iOS, the lack of memory and threads for virtualization is a major weak point.
serious web users or developers — safari’s insistence in being WebKit based rather than chromium has a good chance to turn it into this decade’s internet explorer. if I’m stuck in chrome or Firefox or whatever, why not just use them in more powerful windows hardware?
And the list goes on forever.
Apple silicon Macs are amazing. They really are. And for most causal, mobile users they are better in every way than what PC laptops have to offer. But if you make a living from computing (not using a computer for office tasks, but using computing power to create or discover), it’s damn near impossible to recommend the Mac anymore. (Plus, have you used MacOS lately, what a joke. They almost couldn’t be making it worse to use faster if they explicitly tried!)
Three years ago, I was so excited for the potential for Apple Silicon. I was filling rumors of the announcement like crazy. I was so hyped on the potential to create special, super unique hardware for 2020s computing needs, rather than glom more extensions onto the shambling wreck of x86 after the years of intel stagnation, the spectre, meltdown and other major issues with security that lead to decreased speed over time, the absurd heat and power budgets that made mobile computing impractical and more.
But instead if innovative hardware we got overgrown cellphones. Which make amazing consumer laptops. They really do. An AS MBA is a masterpiece! But they make truly crap high performance or professional hardware.
I was hopeful for all sorts of specialized add ins like the afterburner card, for complex chiplet designs that allowed for serious flexibility in applications, for a Mac that was more capable than intel 14nm++++++, with underpowered, uncompetitive Radeon GPUs (if your model even got a GPU!), and the kludged together T2 co-processor to handle some apple specific tasks.
I still plan to use apple for my mobile computing needs, but it looks like there’s no reason to hold our breath for them to create professional or desktop hardware ever again. It was a good run. And I’ll miss the Mac, but after 30 years defending it, I think it’s time to throw in the towel and admit the party’s is over.
